Chiefs News: Kansas City jumps up in ranking of offensive weapons

When the Kansas City Chiefs (and their fans) look back at their Super Bowl LVIII championship years from now, they will likely remember two points.

First, the defense was incredible. Steve Spagnuolo’s No. 2 unit (points per game) did a lot to allow Kansas City a chance to win each week. And that leads to the second point: quarterback Patrick Mahomes overcoming his weakest arsenal of weapons since becoming the starter in 2018.

This past offseason, general manager Brett Veach intended to improve that area, signing wide receiver Hollywood Brown and using a first-round pick on Xavier Worthy. He also selected 6-foot-6 tight end Jared Wiley in the fourth round of the draft. The rookie projects to have an immediate impact in the red zone.

ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell noticed these improvements, listing the Chiefs at No. 14 in his annual ranking of team offensive weapons (wide receiver, tight ends and running backs). Last year, they were No. 19.

Here’s what he said:

BARNWELL: It can’t be as bad as it was last year. Kansas City’s wide receivers posted the worst drop rate of the past decade, and when that regressed toward the mean during the playoffs, the offense was good enough to win the Super Bowl. Wideout has been perhaps the only source of consternation for this team since trading away Tyreek Hill, but the roster is deeper than it was in 2023. The Chiefs won’t be relying on Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney. Marquise Brown, wildly efficient at times during his time with the Ravens and Cardinals, is an upgrade on Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

For me, the key quote on Brown came from Mahomes in mid-June, as the Chiefs shut down organized team activities.

“[Brown has] done a great job,” said Mahomes. “It’s hard to learn this offense, and I feel like he’s done a great job picking it up very fast. You see the ability, he’s – I mean obviously I don’t know how he’s here in our place because of how talented he is.”

In other words, after spending an offseason with him, Mahomes couldn’t believe Brown was available for his $7 million base price tag. Mahomes went on to note how Brown’s presence, thanks to his speed, would open things up for everybody.

Brown is the key to the Chiefs jumping five spots in Barnwell’s eyes.

BARNWELL: Can the young guys be building blocks? Rashee Rice is likely to face some sort of suspension for off-field misconduct, which limits his chances of breaking out in Year 2. Rookie first-rounder Xavier Worthy’s range of outcomes includes everyone from Hill and DeSean Jackson on the high end to Troy Williamson and John Ross on the low end, who might be more of a situational player than an immediate every-down starter. The advantage here is more about depth than any one player being a star; the Chiefs have three potential standout wide receivers and only need one of them to be an impact player at any given time. Anything they get from Toney & Co. would be an added bonus.

As it stands today, I think four wide receivers are locked into the Chiefs’ roster: Rice, Brown, Worthy and Justin Watson. I would also contend that Mecole Hardman could be a lock — especially given the new emphasis on returning.

That leaves one or two receiver spots on the roster — and maybe two to three if Rice’s suspension does indeed come down before the start of the 2024 season. A healthy Nikko Remigio and a returning Justyn Ross — players the Chiefs like — make the back of the room interesting.

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for Toney and Moore, but we know they will be motivated.

BARNWELL: We can feel more confident about what the Chiefs have elsewhere. Isiah Pacheco has grown into his role as the team’s bruising starting back, and he added more as a receiver while cutting out most of his fumbles in Year 2. He’s already a top-10 back. And while Travis Kelce slowed down from his ridiculous 2022 campaign and finally missed a game through injury, most of the numerical drop-off was a product of reduced snaps. He led all tight ends in receiving yards per game and ranked third in yards per route run. We’re in unprecedented territory for even elite tight ends, but if a 34-year-old Kelce’s down season is producing like T.J. Hockenson on a route-by-route basis, that’s still a major advantage for Kansas City.

Pacheco continues to grow and is more optimistic coming into the 2024 campaign because he can log a full offseason. Last year, he began camp wearing a non-contact jersey.

Pacheco comes with top-10 upside — yet a recent post from Barnwell’s colleague, Jeremy Fowler, showed Pacheco still on the bubble. I don’t think there’s a wrong answer there; if Pacheco is not in the top 10, he can easily get there this year. His wildly aggressive running style has shown it is easy to find injury — so for me, the point with him will always be how long the training staff can keep him on the field.

Here’s a question that is difficult to answer: how much of Kelce’s 900-yard “down” season had to do with the initial freak injury a day before the season — or was it simply age? The right answer is probably somewhere in the middle. But I believe that without the injury, Kelce’s 2023 yardage number would be a lot more like 1,100 than 950.

Playing for the Atlanta Falcons, Tony Gonzalez accumulated more than 3,000 yards after the age of 34.